Book Review: Reading Harry Potter:

Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays ed. Giselle Liza Anatol


As the title implies, this book is a small, 217 page, anthological collection of essays written about Rowling's Harry Potter.  


The 3 overall topics in this book are:
     1. Reading Harry Potter through Theories of Child Development
     2. Literary Influences and Historical Contexts
     3. Morality and Social Values: Issues of Power

All are interesting in their own ways, but I do have favorites:


Lisa Damour's "Harry Potter and the Magical Looking Glass: Reading the Secret Life of the Preadolescent" 

Essentially, Damour is agreeing that the Potter series are for the younger generation. At the same time, however, the series can also belong to adults who can be nostalgic and reflective of their childhoods through reading the series. 
     I love that, especially since my Masters thesis was dealing with the same topic.


Elaine Ostry's "Accepting Mudbloods: The Ambivalent Social Vision of J.K. Rowling's Fairy Tales"

Rowling is definitely playing with some of the familiar themes and motifs  of fairy tales through her story, but she is also pulling the reason these tales existed in the first place -- to teach and promote an idea/moral/message. Rowling's overall message of the battle between good and bad as well as the problems with materialism and racism. Very interesting, especially when paired with Karen Brown's book about prejudice in Harry Potter, but more on that later.
     I think the appeal of this article for me is that it deals with racism -- it fascinates me.


Ximena Gallardo-C.'s and C. Jason Smith's "Cinderfella: J.K. Rowling's Wily Web of Gender"

This essay is just about the stereotypical gender roles Rowling enforces and fights again them.  
    Gender roles are always fun to talk about, especially when they are inverted.


This book is definitely worth a read. It's an interesting mix of different ideas about the series.